<p>Try this link. It does lay things out in a slightly clearer fashion.</p>
<p>[Tax</a> rebate FAQs (Page 1 of 3)](<a href=“http://www.bankrate.com/bos/itax/news/taxguide/20080212_tax_rebate_plan_faq_a1.asp?caret=2m]Tax”>http://www.bankrate.com/bos/itax/news/taxguide/20080212_tax_rebate_plan_faq_a1.asp?caret=2m)</p>
<p>It does seem that college kids who CAN BE CLAIMED as dependents will not get the rebate. Their parents will if they fall within certain income limits.</p>
<p>curlygirl - I think if you can claim the child tax credit for your son you get the credit if not you do not. I seem to recall that goes away the year they turn 17 which , if I have that right, means you would not get it. Your daughter should get it unless you could claim her as a dependent on your return.</p>
<p>Seems to me they should have made a child, whatever the age, that is claimed as a dependent eligible for the rebate.</p>
<p>If we get a rebate for our college senior son, we will give it to him. Plus he needs it a lot more than we do.</p>
<p>As I said earlier…scr**ed twice over…too old to be “children” on my tax return, and can’t get the rebate themselves because they are dependents on my tax return. I’ve said this before…this rebate should have included ANY parent who is paying college tuition for their child. </p>
<p>And yes, I know we get the college “credit” but we are getting that ANYWAY. The rebate would have been a nice thing for our family. </p>
<p>At this point, I’m thinking our rebate check will be about $50 (reduction for income over a certain amount). Gee I wonder where I should spend it to “stimulate the economy”…ridiculous.</p>
<p>Oh well…I guess this answers my question about filing DD’s tax return for no reason. I won’t.</p>
<p>I’ll ask my son if he wants his 300.00, it’s something. He has to claim his income on the fafsa anyway.
I know there has to be a simple way of doing these things, just reading about who can take interest or rebates can drive you crazy. Most of the time, you seem to get the short end of the stick.</p>
<p>Just because you have kids and support them, do you have to claim on your return? One accountant I spoke with suggested weighing our credit for the college student against the rebate to college student…</p>
<p>Somewhere I read that the rebates will not count as income (“think of it as a gift from the government”?)</p>
<p>I have read several things where it says the credit is actually an advance on 2008 tax rebates - the rebate being based on a change in the tax levels for 2008 (10% tax up to a certain level going away). So it is not income for the 2008 return. Trouble is I keep reading different things on different sites - seems everyone is confused.</p>
<p>I don’t think you have to claim them - if you look at the tax publication about dependents it gives a worksheet where you can figure out if you provided more than half their support. Scholarships they get do not count toward their support. We had already done our taxes before I understood how this works (using the term understood loosely here 
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<p>We do if we want them covered by our health insurance, auto insurance, homeowners insurance. If we drop them as dependents on our taxes, we have to buy the above coverages for them. The college health plans don’t provide the coverage our insurance does (particularly for prescriptions), and auto and homeowners would be expensive for each of them on their own.</p>
<p>It’s much better to have them as dependents. They need the insurance and breaks that come in being part of a parents health or auto package. My nephew had health problems and when he graduated college, had trouble finding a job, then he was laid off during a rough period, worked temp for a year (no insurance) and luckily had my sister to help him out until he found the accounting job he has now. But even then, they always have the 3 month wait. He very much missed being on her insurance and the lower car insurance…a real wake-up call for post-students.</p>
<p>Interesting that my 80+ year old retired parents, both sets, will qualify, and they are all comfortable, but my struggling college students or their parents might not, unless the kids go independent 
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<p>In reading one of those links, it shows that the rebate is really an early payment of tax adjustments for 2008, so does that mean that if a person (say your kid) qualifies in 2007, they would have to meet the same requirement in 2008? Or if they are dependent in 2007 can they be independent in 2008 and thereby qualify? (Say they graduate and can go independent?)</p>
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<p>The WSJ had an article today that the governement disputes this. It’s false rumour and it’s not going to help the economy. Government wants you to SPEND!SPEND!SPEND!</p>
<p>I was wondering that somemom. Some places I have read that id on your 2008 return you would have qualified or qualified for more but did not get it you will get it in your 2008 rebate. But then in the actual bill it has a passae that says
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<p>So confused </p>